S.F. Giants' ugly skid has hope in short supply

Updated 7:46 pm, Sunday, June 29, 2014

Hunter Pence shows some frustration after striking out against the Reds' Homer Bailey in the seventh inning. The loss dropped the Giants into a virtual tie for first place with the Dodgers.

Hunter Pence shows some frustration after striking out against the Reds' Homer Bailey in the seventh inning. The loss dropped the Giants into a virtual tie for first place with the Dodgers.

Photo: George Nikitin, Associated Press

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo against the Colorado Rockies during a baseball game in San Francisco, Saturday, June 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo against the Colorado Rockies during a baseball game in San Francisco, Saturday, June 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants and manager Bruce Bochy #15 argue a call with umpire D.J. Reyburn #70 during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T Park on June 29, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) less

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants and manager Bruce Bochy #15 argue a call with umpire D.J. Reyburn #70 during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T ... more

Photo: Jason O. Watson, Getty Images

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Gregor Blanco #7 of the San Francisco Giants is caught stealing third base by Todd Frazier #21 of the Cincinnati Reds in front of umpire Dan Bellino #2 during the fourth inning at AT&T Park on June 29, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) less

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Gregor Blanco #7 of the San Francisco Giants is caught stealing third base by Todd Frazier #21 of the Cincinnati Reds in front of umpire Dan Bellino #2 during the fourth inning at ... more

Photo: Jason O. Watson, Getty Images

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San Francisco Giants' Gregor Blanco is tagged out on a steal attempt at third base by Cincinnati Reds' Todd Frazier during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 29, 2014, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin) less

San Francisco Giants' Gregor Blanco is tagged out on a steal attempt at third base by Cincinnati Reds' Todd Frazier during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 29, 2014, in San Francisco. (AP ... more

Photo: George Nikitin, Associated Press

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Tim Hudson #17 of the San Francisco Giants is relieved by manager Bruce Bochy #15 in front of Buster Posey #28 during the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T Park on June 29, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The Cincinnati Reds defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-0. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) less

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Tim Hudson #17 of the San Francisco Giants is relieved by manager Bruce Bochy #15 in front of Buster Posey #28 during the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T Park ... more

Photo: Jason O. Watson, Getty Images

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Skip Schumaker #25 of the Cincinnati Reds catches a fly ball hit off the bat of Buster Posey (not pictured) of the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park on June 29, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) less

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 29: Skip Schumaker #25 of the Cincinnati Reds catches a fly ball hit off the bat of Buster Posey (not pictured) of the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park on ... more

Photo: Jason O. Watson, Getty Images

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San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval reacts after striking out against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 29, 2014, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval reacts after striking out against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 29, 2014, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

Photo: George Nikitin, Associated Press

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Sergio Romo reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Brandon Phillips (not pictured) of the Cincinnati Reds during the ninth inning at AT&T Park on June 28

Sergio Romo reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Brandon Phillips (not pictured) of the Cincinnati Reds during the ninth inning at AT&T Park on June 28

Photo: Jason O. Watson, Getty Images

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S.F. Giants' ugly skid has hope in short supply

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If the Giants dig themselves out of this hole and wind up winning the World Series, they'll say, "Back on June 29, everybody was writing us off as dead." They will be correct, and they'll have proof, because a lot of people now writing them off are having it notarized.

And when I talk about the hole they need to dig themselves out of, I realize I'm referring to first place. The Giants are still in first place in the NL West, although sharing it uncomfortably with the Dodgers. But when was the last time the picture looked so bleak for a first-place team?

In a weird spin on "Groundhog Day," the Giants have been slipping a different way on the same banana peel almost every day for the past three weeks, blowing every speck of the 9 1/2-game lead they held on June 8.

That's not exactly the kind of aerial "trip" Frank Sinatra was suggesting after Sunday's 4-0 loss to the Reds when Ol' Blue Eyes sang over the AT&T PA system, "Come Fly With Me."

The problem is not so much that the Giants have skidded so dramatically, but that the prospects seem so dim that they'll come rocketing out of their slump.

In fact, so gloomy is the picture that it's even possible to start thinking the unpleasant - that this could be the beginning of the end of an era in which the Giants won two World Series titles.

More on the Giants

They have a chance to get two or three key players back soon - Brandon Belt, Angel Pagan and maybe Marco Scutaro. But the Dodgers look at that and shrug. Eh.

The famed Giants' starting pitching staff has thrown a few good games recently, including Tim Hudson's very effective effort Sunday. But this is a staff that is no longer youthful, and now the bullpen is reeling.

On offense, Buster Posey is hitting well, robbed once Sunday of extra bases, and Hunter Pence is swinging OK, but the home-run well has run dry. Posey has gone 44 at-bats since his last home run, and cleanup hitter Pablo Sandoval has gone 46. Michael Morse, 69.

The Giants have eight homers in their past 21 games.

Help from the farm? Remember when the Giants could reach down and bring up a Posey or a Sandoval or a Tim Lincecum to give 'em a jolt? Recent call-ups Joe Panik and Adam Duvall don't seem to be cut from quite that same heroic cloth, certainly not in terms of instant impact.

Then there's the Dodgers. Once upon a time the Giants could count on the Dodgers to fizzle or foozle, with ditzy ownership, a questionable front office and a general lack of courage and character. Those days seem gone, now that the Dodgers have brains behind their money, and frightening youngsters like Yasiel Puig.

The Giants are trying hard not to get their daubers down. In the clubhouse before Sunday's game, someone slipped Michael Jackson's "Thriller" onto the clubhouse stereo. Then the Giants went out and put their crowd to sleep by not racking up their first base hit off Homer Bailey until two were out in the seventh, a slash single to right by Posey.

That was a big hit. Imagine the morale in the Giants clubhouse had Bailey no-hit the Giants for the second straight year, capping a four-game sweep leading into a day off.

The fates are weighing heavily on manager Bruce Bochy, a man of great patience and perspective.

"Fortunately, it's baseball," Bochy sighed.

He meant that during the long slog of a baseball season, there's always time to right a listing ship, that things balance out.

And Bochy isn't just sitting back and waiting for the breaks to break his way. Before the game he announced that he had removed Sergio Romo from the closer role. That's not a small thing, because Bochy is not your knee-jerk skipper.

That move didn't work out so well Sunday, as Jeremy Affeldt blew up in the ninth, but it didn't matter, since the Giants got shut out.

Sunday felt like rock bottom. It could not have been more disastrous if a plague of toxic aphids had buzzed into the organic vegetable garden behind the center-field fence and deforested every last stalk of kale and rutabaga.

Fans and the media almost always overreact, during good times and bad, but even the coolheaded, objective analysts will have a hard time seeing a big-time bounce-back for the Giants.

"You have to look at the big picture, where we are at, not what's happened," Bochy said.

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